I LOOOOOOOVE Indian food! My wife makes insanely great and authentic dishes too, which spoils me. We make our own yogurt and paneer and blend our own spices, all things that make the dish so much richer and flavorful. Some Indian restaurants do these things, and other just buy their stuff pre-made (you can taste the difference). I suggest lamb vindaloo, tikka masala, and saag paneer. And don't forget the naan/roti! A couple warnings though...
1. DO NOT ORDER ANYTHING MADE REALLY HOT THE FIRST TIME YOU TRY INDIAN! I love spicy food, but the first time I tried Indian I felt like my intestines were bleeding magma for three days. Eaaaase your way into it.
2. If they have Barfi (an indian candy variety dessert - kind of like fudge, but not) - don't bother. It is frickin nasty. Really. The name says it all.
3. Go with a bunch of people and order a bunch of different stuff so you can share family style. Then you get to try a multitude of items.

Seldom see beef dishes? How about never. Cows are sacred in Indian culture so if you see a beef dish on the menu of an Indian restaurant it must be a Native American Indian restaurant not a Hindu Indian restaurant. Pork is pretty common, although chicken and veggie dishes dominate the menu. I love Indian food and my wife and I have gotten quite proficient at making it at home.

I said seldom because Hindu is the majority religion in India and Hindus will not eat beef. Muslim is the next most common religion so pork is also uncommon. However that does not preclude from making a Beef or Pork Curry if the chef and or owner is not of these two religions. It would not surprise me at all to see them in a more Americanized restaurant.

From talking with my friends from India the most common meat is goat (at least in southern India). Lamb is the American substitute.

I've also learned that the cuisine varies considerably from different regions of India. Which makes sense as India is a large country with considerable variation in terrain and multiple languages spoken.

Daal (Dal, dahl, dhal) are split, de-husked beans. Also the thick bean/lentil soup (also called sambar) made from the beans, which is mostly used as a sauce on rice.

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We have two, and the closest one to us is vegetarian only it seems. Which doesn't bother me, I think I am going to try 2 the following just have not decided,...
I'm excited to try something new, I just hope they let me order by number since I don't want to try and pronounce anything.

Do you prefer the spicy Northern cuisine of Gary, or the more subtle fare from Bloomington?

I LOL at that one. Thanks for making me shoot beer out of my nose. It was so ladylike.

We don't have Indian cuisine where I live. We also don't have Mexican, Thai, Chinese, Polish, German, etc. We have tons of Swedes who like potatoes, and one Italian restaurant.

So, when we travel, we try to have whatever exotic cuisine we can find. I like Indian quite a bit- it's not so much hot (like fiery Thai) as much as truly spicy, in an aromatic way. I like everything I've ever tried.

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